Pogba, Antony, Van Dijk: What is the Premier League's most overpriced XI? | OneFootball

The signing of Mykhailo Mudryk for €70 million – other fee estimates are available – certainly raised eyebrows.

When Chelsea parted with a small fortune to bag the Ukrainian sensation from Arsenal‘s grasps, there were no shortage of fans, pundits and reporters opining that the Blues had spent far too much on their marquee signing of the January window.

However, believe it or not, Mudryk doesn’t take his place in the most overpriced XI in Premier League history despite the state of disbelief that followed his transfer fee.

That’s because the experts over at Transfermarkt valued him at €40 million at the time of the transfer, meaning that Chelsea ‘only’ paid €30 million over the odds to secure his signature.

And while that’s still a fair chunk of money to ‘overspend’, it isn’t actually enough for Mudryk to take his place alongside the XI of players who – in the eyes of the boffins at Transfermarkt – arrived for the most inflated fees of all.

How do you know if a transfer’s overpriced?

The way you work out how ‘overpriced’ a player’s move truly is requires you find out the difference between the fee a club paid and what price the individual was actually valued as at the time.

Transfermarkt is ultimately an unofficial calculator of player values, but nevertheless such a renowned one that it’s even be used in court cases before and takes into account a whole host of variables from the player’s age to their injury record.

And using their database, we were duly able to work out the most overpriced Premier League XI in history and the results are certainly fascinating.

But before we let you loose on the line-up, it is of course important to stress that sometimes it is absolutely worthwhile to spend above the odds in the world of football.

You will, after all, notice that some of these transfers were absolutely inspired and while the maths pointed towards it being a rip-off at the time, both the club’s long-term vision and the players’ quality ultimately proved the data completely wrong.

Premier League quiz: Can you name all 40 of these players from the 2010s?

What is the most overpriced XI in Premier League history?

Got it? Right then, well, be sure to check out the Premier League’s most overpriced line-up in history down below. It’s quite the mixed bag.

Transfer fee: €80.00 million

RB: Ben White (Brighton & Hove Albion to Arsenal) – €30.50 million difference

Transfer fee: €58.50 million

Market value at the time: €28.00 million

CB: Wesley Fofana (Leicester City to Chelsea) – €40.00 million difference

Transfer fee: €80.40 million

CB: Virgil van Dijk (Southampton to Liverpool) – €54.65 million difference

Transfer fee: €84.65 million

Market value at the time: €30.00 million

LB: Marc Cucurella (Brighton & Hove Albion to Chelsea) – €37.30 million difference

Transfer fee: €65.30 million

CM: Casemiro (Real Madrid to Manchester United) – €30.65 million difference

Transfer fee: €70.65 million

Market value at the time: €40.00 million

CM: Paul Pogba (Juventus to Manchester United) – €35.00 million difference

Transfer fee: €105.00 million

CM: Kevin De Bruyne (Wolfsburg to Manchester City) – €31.00 million difference

Transfer fee: €76.00 million

Market value at the time: €45.00 million

RW: Antony (Ajax to Manchester United) – €60.00 million difference

Transfer fee:

ST: Alexander Isak (Real Sociedad to Newcastle United) – €40.00 million difference

Transfer fee: €70.00 million

Market value at the time: €30.00 million

LW: Jack Grealish (Aston Villa to Manchester City) – €52.50 million difference

Transfer fee: €117.50 million

Which transfers worked out and which didn’t?

You see, sometimes paying over the odds is well worth the money and other times… well.

It’s perhaps not surprising to see that Kepa is the joint-most overpriced transfer in the league’s history, but to see Antony alongside him having arrived for a mind-blowing €60 million above his market value is truly stunning.

Given that the United ace is at the centre of a lot of debate right now after an indifferent start to life at the club, the pressure is well and truly on for him to justify that hefty price tag.

But the roadmap for success is certainly there because you only have to look at De Bruyne and Van Dijk to see that ‘overpriced’ certainly doesn’t correlate with a waste of money.

The Manchester City and Liverpool stars are arguably the Premier League‘s greatest ever players in their respective positions, and while their transfer fees might have raised eyebrows at the time, boy have they made it look like loose change ever since.

And let’s face it, though we’ve just walked you through a team that’s mixed with successes and failures, it would still be a pretty darn formidable side if they all lined up together, that’s for sure.